Karen Rose - Silent Scream

We have a special radio frequency for this case. Kenny’s in a safe house. I’ll be back in a minute. Keep your head down. The detective gave him the notebook, then held out his hand to take it back when Austin had read what he’d written. Then he disappeared, leaving Austin to hope like hell he’d done the right thing.

He turned down his scanner. The cops had seen the kid’s car, dammit, but the kid had given them the slip. The whole neighborhood was suddenly crawling with cops, who after last night would be looking for a white van.

“Now what?” he muttered aloud. The kid was on foot, he couldn’t have gone far. He drove past the ice-cream shop slowly, courtesy of the drivers in front of him who were rubbernecking. No kid. He kept going, past the school, stopping in a grocery parking lot. There were so many vans parked here that his vehicle wouldn’t stick out.

He’d started walking, looking for the kid, when another text came through. Different phone, other pocket. It was from the phone he’d given Eric, now controlled by Albert.

Fuck you, it read. There was an attachment. Opening it, he found himself staring at the picture on his small telephone screen. This day was not getting any better.

Wednesday, September 22, 1:00 p.m.

They shouldn’t have wasted their time with the registrar, Olivia thought grimly. Albert’s dorm hadn’t been very hard to find at all. It would be the one with all the police cars and the rescue squad in front. “I have a bad feeling about this,” she said.

“Let’s hurry before they touch anything,” Noah said, already jogging.

A uniformed officer waited in the small sitting area of Albert’s dorm suite. “Body’s in the back bedroom. Roommate found him.” The officer pointed to a young man who stood to one side, his face pale. “He says he didn’t touch anything.”

“We’d appreciate it if you could talk to us,” Noah said to the kid. “Stay here, okay?”

“Dammit,” Olivia muttered when she stood in the doorway. A twin bed was situated against one wall and Albert’s large body dominated it. He lay on his back, much as Eric had, nude. A paramedic was kneeling on the floor next to him, packing up his kit.

“He’s dead, Detective,” the paramedic said. “ME can tell you for sure, but at least for a few hours. Looks like he took too many.” He pointed to the nightstand, where there was a small plastic baggie with a few pills remaining inside. “Percocet.”

Emotions churned inside her-frustration, but mostly impotent rage. Albert and Eric had hurt so many, but they’d never stand for their crimes.

Pushing the rage aside, she bent to study Albert’s pelvis, earning her a stare from the medic. “Right there,” she said. “Same needle hole as the others. Sonofabitch.”

“There’s a note on the desk,” the medic said. “Next to the printer.”

“But no laptop or cell phone,” Noah observed. “Big surprise. No signature on the note. It’s in French. Starts with Adieu. Ends in mon ami. The rest I don’t know.”

“My French is rusty,” the medic said, “but it’s basically ‘Good-bye cruel world. Soon I will be with you, my love.’ I guess you don’t buy the whole love-gone- sour suicide?”

“No,” Olivia said flatly. “We’ll take it from here, thanks.”

“And then there was one,” Noah murmured when the medic was gone.

Olivia looked at Noah grimly. “Mary killed them all?”

“She’s the only one left. Let’s talk to Albert’s roommate, but if he doesn’t know Mary, we’ll work the dorms to see who signed Joel in for visits.”

The roommate was visibly shaken, so Olivia gentled her voice. “I’m Detective Sutherland and this is Detective Webster. What’s your name?”

“B-Bill. Bill Westmoreland.”

“Did you know Albert well?” she asked him gently.

“No. He didn’t stay here very often. He had a relationship with a guy named Eric. Engineering major. Eric’s dad is loaded. He has his own place. Albert flopped there.”

“Did you ever see him with anyone else? Any girls?”

“Sure, sometimes. Not lately.”

“Were you here all morning?” Noah asked and Bill shook his head.

“I’ve got class at nine. He was here when I left. He’s been here a lot the last few days. I think he and Eric had a fight.”

“What makes you say that?” Olivia asked.

“Albert normally ignored me, but the last few days he’s been upset. I heard him Monday, no words, just his tone. He was angry. I stay out of his way when he’s angry.”

“Was he violent?” Olivia asked and Bill shrugged.

“Never hit me, but there were a few times I thought he might.”

“Did he know anyone named Mary?” Noah asked and Bill shook his head.

“When did you get back from class today?” Olivia asked.

“About eleven-thirty. His bedroom door was wide open. At first I was like, dude, put on some clothes, and then I saw he wasn’t breathing, so I called 911, then the RA.”

Olivia stood. “Thanks for your help. Is there anywhere you can stay?”

“I have a friend with a place,” he said. “I have an exam in two hours. This sucks.”

“I think maybe this’ll get you a makeup,” Noah said. “The officer will help you pack a bag. Not that we don’t trust you, it’s just procedure.”

Bill’s eyes narrowed, understanding dawning for the first time and with it a flare of fear. “He didn’t kill himself. Oh my God. He was murdered. Here, in my room.”

“We’re investigating,” Noah said calmly. “For now, don’t talk to the press. Please.”

Bill’s eyes flickered again, this time with canny greed. “Of course not.”

Out in the hallway, Olivia rolled her eyes. “Let’s find Mary before she reads her name on Yahoo! We need to update Abbott.”

Noah called Abbott while Olivia gave the first responder instructions. When they got in the elevator, Noah looked relieved. “They found Austin. They’re bringing him in.”

“Where’s he been?”

“Abbott hasn’t talked to him yet. He’ll call us when he has more. Said they weren’t going to announce he’s been found just yet, so we should keep it quiet. Abbott also wanted to know if Tracey Mullen’s mother ever got here from Florida.”

“I need to check my messages. I’ll do it when we’re outside. I got no bars in this elevator.” Which moved in slow-mo. The elevator finally reached the ground and they stopped at the receptionist’s desk.

“Visitors have to sign in and I make a copy of their licenses,” the receptionist said. “Students swipe their ID card. Here’s everyone who’s been through in the last week.”

It was a thick printout that made Olivia’s eyes cross. “Can you check for a name? Joel Fischer?”

The receptionist typed, then shook her head. “Didn’t come in here.”

They thanked her and went outside into the sun. “I’ll get a couple of sandwiches from the food truck,” Noah said. “You check your messages.”

He jogged off to one of the silver food trucks and she listened to her messages. Paige. Paige again. Mia, three times. She’d heard about Kane and was coming to Minnesota. Olivia felt a tiny piece of her settle. Mia would understand. She’d lost a partner herself, years ago.

The last message was from David. Her eyes narrowed as she listened, saving his message just as Noah returned. She took one of the sandwiches he offered and made herself take a bite while turning back to Albert’s dorm, walking fast. “We got a last name on Mary. Mary O’Reilly. Let’s see if that nice receptionist can locate her for us.”

Noah was frowning. “Where did you get the last name?”

“From David, on my voice mail. And no, I don’t know how he knew. I suspect we don’t want to know. I’ll call him back in a few minutes. Let’s find Mary first.”